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United Black Fund Executive Director Cecil Lipscomb to chair the Eliza Bryant Village Board of Trustees in Cleveland

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Pictured is Cecil Lipscomb, the newly elected chair of the Board of Trustees of Eliza Bryant Village in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Cecil Lipscomb, executive director of the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, has been elected chair of the Eliza Bryant Village Board of Trustees in Cleveland by trustee members for a two-year term. (Editor's note: The UBF of Greater Cleveland is a nonprofit that partners with other organizations to provide grants, workshops and other community services to the greater Cleveland area, and mainly the African-American community).

Eliza Bryant Village provides services for seniors, including low income housing.

It is located in Ward 7 in Cleveland's historic Hough neighborhood on the city's largely Black east side.

A five -year Board of Trustee member , Lipscomb previously served as 1st vice-chair and chair of the Strategic Planning Committee


“Cecil is an outstanding leader with a track record of improving the quality of life for under-served communities in Greater Cleveland, especially African Americans,” said immediate past-chair Danielle Sydnor, who is also president of the Cleveland NAACP.

 

Sydnor will continue to serve as a Board of Trustee member and will chair the Strategic Planning Committee.


“We look forward to Cecil’s strategic leadership in charting our future course of service to older adults in need,” said Danny R. Williams, president & CEO of Eliza Bryant Village. “Life for many of the seniors we serve has not always been easy. Their sacrifices helped to open access to healthcare and economic opportunities many of us now enjoy.  It is now our responsibility to ensure they get the care and respect they have earned.”

Lipscomb received his undergraduate degree from Ursuline College and his MBA from Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management.


He was senior director of Institutes at Cleveland Clinic and worked as director of fundraising for Case Western Reserve University’s School of Engineering.


He also worked in commercial and government sales, management, and marketing in the telecommunications sector for 10 years with two Fortune 100 companies that eventually merged to create Verizon, and he received the Corporate College Smart 50 Award from Smart Business Magazine.


Other officers and other positions with Eliza Bryant Village include the following:


· 1st Vice-Chair, Ronald Johnson, JD, Key Bank

· 2nd Vice-Chair, Jean Jenkins, Past Board Chair, Community Volunteer

· Secretary, Bette Bonder, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA., Cleveland State University

· Recording Secretary, Barbara Bray, Community Volunteer

· Treasurer, Rufus Heard, Community Volunteer


Board of Trustees who are serving a three-year term from 2021 to 2024 are as follows:


· Ruth Fore

· Rufus Sims

· Ronald Johnson


Volunteers who will serve on the Board of Trustees by virtue of their respective roles as presidents of Auxiliary I, Auxiliary II, and Auxiliary III are as follows:


· Teena Mitchell, Auxiliary I

· Gwendolyn James, Auxiliary II

· Zadie Barber, Auxiliary III

The mission of Eliza Bryant Village is to provide quality services, outreach programs, and a dignified, compassionate and secure living environment for seniors. More information about the Board of Trustees can be found here on the Village website.

###

About Eliza Bryant Village

Eliza Bryant Village provides high-quality services for seniors along the continuum of care in a safe, dignified and compassionate environment. We offer skilled nursing with memory-care and rehabilitation, on-site dialysis care, an adult day care and senior outreach program, and affordable independent senior housing. Home Care is available to Eliza Bryant Village seniors as well as our aging neighbors. The Elder Justice Center at Eliza Bryant Village provides free, temporary housing and wrap-around services to older adults experiencing abuse, violence, trauma, or criminal victimization. Eliza Bryant Village, located on 17 acres in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood, has been an anchor institution in the community for 125 years. The oldest continually operating African American-founded long-term care facility in the United States, we serve more than 1,000 seniors annually with more than 160 compassionate employees and nearly 300 volunteers.


By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, associate publisher. Coleman is a Black political. legal and investigative reporter who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post in Cleveland, Ohio, and under two different publishers and several different editors

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 May 2021 03:03

Nina Turner endorsed for Congress by 5 of greater Cleveland's 6 Black Ohio state legislators, and 4 of them are Black women....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's black digital news leader

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Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, associate publisher

From left: Ohio 11th Congressional District Candidate Nina Turner of Cleveland, state Senator Sandra Williams of Cleveland (D-21) and state Representatives Juanita Brent (D-12) of Cleveland, Stephanie Howse (D-11) of Cleveland, Janine Boyd (D-9) of Cleveland Heights, and Phil Robinson Jr. of Solon (D-6)

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Congressional candidate Nina Turner, a former Cleveland councilwoman and prior Ohio senator who later served as co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign for president and is a front runner in the 11th congressional district race in Ohio to replace former congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, has announced that she has added the names of four Black state representatives out of greater Cleveland to her long list of endorsements, namely state Reps Phil Robinson Jr. of Solon (D-6), Juanita Brent of Cleveland (D-12), Stephanie Howse of Cleveland (D-11,) and Janine Boyd of Cleveland Heights (D-9).


And with state Sen Sandra Williams, previously endorsing her and coming aboard, Turner now has won endorsements from five of the six Black Ohio legislators of greater Cleveland.


Fudge is now the U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary in President Joe Biden's cabinet.


State Rep Terrance Upchurch (D-10) of Cleveland has endorsed Shontel Brown, a Cuyahoga County councilwoman and chair of the county Democratic party who has a long list of endorsements too, and is Turner's strongest opponent out of  13  candidates running in  the  special Democratic congressional primary, which is Aug. 3.

 

Turner is a Clevelander who served as a councilwoman in Cleveland's Ward 1 before becoming a state senator, a position she held prior to serving as a surrogate for U.S. Sen Sanders of Vermont.

 

Her ties as a former state legislator obviously helped her win  the support of Sen. Williams and the four Blacks state Reps out of greater Cleveland who say she is the best candidate to lead Ohio's 11th congressional district in Congress, among a host of others who have endorsed her too, including congress persons, mayors, unions and Black and other leaders.

 

Rep Robinson is a newcomer who first won election to the statehouse in 2018, unseating Republican Jim Trakas and flipping the seat from Republican control to Democratically controlled.

 

Brent was first elected in 2018 and is a newcomer too, and a former community activist.

“There is no other candidate as prepared and experienced as Nina Turner to lead with boldness to fight for the economy, health care, living wage jobs, and protect our growing aging population along with our children," said state Rep Brent.

State Rep Howse said that "as we work to get families back on their feet with affordable childcare, access to broadband internet, and extra protections for our seniors we can trust that Nina Turner will be our voice in Congress to secure these much needed resources. She has a proven track record of getting things done and I am proud to support her campaign.”

Rep. Boyd agreed.

“ I met Nina when I worked as a child advocate and have always known her to be a champion for lifting children out of poverty and ensuring they had the resources needed to be successful. As a former State Senator, Nina Turner knows how to deliver results, even in a majority conservative general assembly. That’s why I support her candidacy and look forward to working with her on behalf of Ohio families," Boyd said.

The special primary general election is set for Nov. 2 where the winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries will square off.

Until then, the congressional seat that Fudge vacated on March 10 to lead HUD after confirmation by the U.S. Senate will remain vacant.

Polls show that Turner is the front-runner  followed by Brown, who is leading in front of former state senators Jeff Johnson and Shirley Smith, and former state Rep. John E. Barnes. Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

 

Last Updated on Thursday, 24 June 2021 17:19

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson says he will not seek reelection as Councilman Basheer Jones announces he will run for mayor this year....Will the next Cleveland mayor be Black? Who will Jackson endorse in the crowded race for mayor, if anybody?

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Pictured are Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson (wearing blue suit) and Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black alternative digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, the city's four-term Black mayor, announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection this year to an unprecedented fifth term as Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones, in an unrelated announcement, joined the crowded race of Jackson's wannabe successors.

The 57th mayor of the largely Black major American city of some 385,000 people and the longest serving mayor in Cleveland history, Jackson, 74, was elected to city council in Ward 5 in 1989 and went on to become the city council president before he won the mayor-ship in 2005 over then incumbent mayor Jane Campbell.

"I'm moving on with understating that this is a relay race, not a sprint. The race is not over and we are not yet a great city. Your job—this is your job—to be to ensure that the runner in the next leg of this race runs hard and he runs true," Jackson said during a virtual town hall on Thursday.

The mayor said his accomplishments include getting the city through a 2008 recession and keeping it afloat in general and through a pandemic, and leading campaigns to pass two levies for Cleveland schools, which are controlled by the mayor per state law.

And he spoke on the still pending consent decree for police reforms instituted behind several excessive force killings of Black people, including 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014.

His critics say crime is at an all time high, the public schools are under par, and inner city neighborhoods have taken a back seat to downtown developments.

Councilman Jones, who was elected to his first four-year term on city council in 2017 after defeating then incumbent T.J. Dow, is among those who hope to replace Jackson as mayor and said Thursday that he is eager to turn the city around, if he is elected mayor.

“We are not the mistake on the lake and we have to change the way we view the city,"  Jones said in announcing his bid for mayor at a press conference on Thursday.

A Morehouse graduate and Black east side councilman, Jones said that if he is elected mayor he will work to improve the relationship between city residents and City Hall.

Jones is the fifth high profile candidate to announce a run for mayor, including  state Sen Sandra Williams, City Council President Kevin Kelley, former councilman Zack Reed, and newcomer Justin Bibb.

Like Jackson, all of them are Democrats as are all-17 members of city council, and all are Black, except Kelley, a west side councilman.

Views on Jackson's announcement that he will not seek election to a fifth term varied with some glad to see him leave and others disappointed that he is going.

Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin, who was Jackson's director of the Community Relations Board, described his ally and friend as "a great mayor."

Questions that linger are why Jackson, the city's third Black mayor, did not simultaneously endorse Council President Kelley, who is White and his ally, when he announced he will not be running for mayor, and whether the city will celebrate a Black or White mayor when voters make their decision later this year relative to the non-partisan race.

City Council seats are also up for grabs this year, which means that Jones is foregoing  a reelection bid for city council to run for mayor.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

 

Last Updated on Saturday, 08 May 2021 18:33

Anniversary rally as to the escape of the Cleveland Seymour Avenue rape victims is May 6, 2021, 5:15 pm, 2207 Seymour Avenue with keynote speakers Councilman Kevin Conwell, Journey Center for Healing and Safety CEO Melissa Graves, and Victoria Grant

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Pictured are  Seymour Avenue in Cleveland escape victims Michelle Knight (wearing black), Gina DeJesus (wearing pink)and Amanda Berry (wearing necklace), Journey Center for Safety and Healing CEO Melissa Graves (wearing Cleveland No. 23 shirt) and its racial equity and inclusion manager Victoria Grant (wearing gray hair), and Cleveland Ward 9 Councilman Kevin ConwellCLEVELAND, Ohio-May 6, 2021 marks the eighth-year anniversary of the escape, after a decade of captivity, of Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight and Amanda Berry from the late Ariel Castro's since demolished Seymour Avenue home on Cleveland's near west side.

Greater Clevelanders will rally on this issue this day as they do annually.

Keynote speakers for the event are Cleveland Ward 9 Councilman Kevin Conwell, Journey Center for Healing and Safety in Cleveland CEO Melissa Graves, and its racial equity and inclusion manager, Victoria Grant.
Activist Alfred Porter Jr of Black on Black Crime will be the MC.
Community members and mothers of women and girls who have been raped and/or murdered in Cleveland are among the speakers.
"We will be at the event and we encourage others to attend," said Graves, who has been the CEO for the Journey Center for Healing and Safety in Cleveland for several years.

Community activists are also among the speakers for the annual gathering.

Community members, led by International Women's Day March Cleveland, Imperialwomencoalition, Black on Black Crime Inc, Peace in the Hood,, the Laura Cowan Foundation, the Cleveland Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center (now dubbed the Journey Center for Safety and Healing), Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.comClevelandurbannews.com and community activist women, will remember the abduction, decade-long rape and escape of the Seymour Avenue victims from the wrath of convicted rapist Castro at an anniversary rally and march at 5:15 pm on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 2207 Seymour Avenue in Cleveland where Castro's home once stood.
Castro died in prison.
Masks are required per city ordinance. Organizers are requesting that participants bring rally signs to the event. Call the Imperial Women Coalition and Women's March Cleveland at 216-659-0473 for more information.
"We are not ready to forget what happened in the 'House of Horrors' on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio and we have unfinished business as to heightened rape and murder and other crimes against innocent women and girls," said head organizer Kathy Wray Coleman of Imperial Women Coalition and Women's March Cleveland, a former Cleveland John Marshall High School biology teacher.
The activist women say the anniversary event will also address the Violence Against Women Act, local, county, statewide and national public policy changes sought, and a demand for resources as to violence against women and children, human trafficking, and the epidemic of missing persons.
Activists will also call for public policy changes and more resources relative to rape, domestic violence and other violence against women and girls locally, countywide, statewide and nationally.
Additionally, activists want more equitable distributions of resources in educational arenas for women and girls, particularly regarding poor, minority, inner city and LGBT women, girls, and other genders.
A local guitar player and former Cleveland schools bus driver, Castro hanged himself in prison a month into his life sentence without the possibility of parole. He was a sad character and a serial rapist of children and women.
Statistics on nationwide violence against women and girls include the following:
-Violence against women and girls, including rape and murder, remains an epidemic, as does human trafficking
-Women and girls ages 12-34 are at the highest risk for sexual assault
-Poor women are 12 times more likely to get raped
-One out of every six American women has experience an attempted or completed rape and 22 percent of African-American women and 14 percent of Hispanic-American women experience at least one rape or attempted rape in their lifetime
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 05 May 2021 20:41

Congressional Candidate Shontel Brown opens Shaker Square campaign headquarters in Cleveland with County Executive Armond Budish, other supporters by her side..Brown is Black and is also chair of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party- By Kathy Wray Coleman

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Pictured are Cuyahoga County Councilwoman and 11th congressional district candidate Shontel Brown with County Executive Armond Budish at the grand opening of her campaign headquarters on Sat, May 1 at Shaker Square in Cleveland

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper


By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio - People gathered on Shaker Square in Cleveland Saturday afternoon to support Cuyahoga County Councilwoman and 11th congressional district candidate  Shontel Brown at the grand opening of her campaign headquarters on the city's majority Black east side.

Ohio's largely Black 11th congressional district includes most of Cleveland, mainly its largely Black east side, a largely Black pocket of Akron, and select suburbs of Cuyahoga County and neighboring Summit County.

A native of Northeast Ohio and a resident of Warrensville Heights, a largely Black middle class Cleveland suburb, Brown is the chair of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and has been a member of the Cuyahoga County Council since 2015.

She is the first Black and first woman to lead the county Democratic party.

In a statement, Brown told Clevelandurbannews.com and-Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com that if elected to  Congress, she  will "work with President Biden and Vice President Harris on issues across the board, including for comprehensive health and economic recovery from the pandemic"

There were several elected officials in attendance to speak to the crowd and support Brown at the opening of her campaign headquarters in Shaker Square on Saturday, including Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell, who is the first Black female mayor in the city, Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers, who is also Black, Bedford court executive Tom Day, Akron Councilwoman Ginger Baylor, South Euclid Councilwoman Chanell Elston, and  state Rep. Kent Smith (D-8).

“Shontel has been on the ground and has been doing the work here in Cuyahoga County,” said Budish, a Brown ally and the county's most powerful Democrat, aside from U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat who is of no relation to Shontel Brown and who has not made an endorsement to date in the competitive congressional race.

Budish said that he believes that Brown is the best candidate to lead Ohio's 11th congressional district in Washington.

"A member of Cuyahoga County Council, she has been a real leader on things like equity, job creation, job training, and things like healthcare," Budish said. "She has been one of the key's to why Cuyahoga County is doing better and better. We need someone that can work with others and get things done for Cuyahoga County and the 11th district.”

Budish' endorsement puts him up against outgoing Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, who has endorsed former state senator Nina Turner of Cleveland, the other front-runner in the seven-way race in the Democratic primary of the special election to replace former congresswoman Marcia L, Fudge, who is now secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the cabinet of President Joe Biden.

Rep. Kent Smith said that the 11th congressional district is a unique political position in Northeast Ohio that requires unique leadership during good times and bad times."

“When moments of crisis emerge, this position often acts as the voice of leadership for this region, and in that role, we need a level-headed advocate who has relationships all across this region who seeks solutions rather than someone who is dropping bombs and chasing headlines," Smith said. "I believe Shontel Brown can be that kind of leader for us because she has been that kind of leader for us.”

Several clergy members were in attendance as they cheered and prayed for Shontel.

The second largest of Ohio's 88 counties, Cuyahoga County includes Cleveland and is roughly 29 percent Black, and is a Democratic stronghold.

The special primary election for Fudge's congressional seat is Aug. 3 with the general election set for Nov. 2.

Until then, the congressional seat that Fudge vacated on March 10 to lead HUD after confirmation by the U.S. Senate will remain vacant.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black and alternative digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

 

Last Updated on Tuesday, 04 May 2021 18:22

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